Jane Austen left an indelible impact on not just feminist literature but on the movement itself. One example is Elizabeth Bennet’s disregard for decorum as she traipses through the muck to check on her sister Jane in “Pride and Prejudice.” Living in the era of #MeToo and Time’s Up lends a great deal of gravitas to a seemingly simple act written about more than 200 years ago. Keira Knightley portrayed the headstrong Austen character in 2005, and Anya Taylor-Joy stars as another in the coming year’s “Emma.”
Autumn de Wilde—most well-known for photographing such musical acts as The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, and Beck—makes her feature film directorial debut with the project. Joining her in this cinematic endeavor are the producer extraordinaire duo of Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner—chairmen of Working Title Films. The production company’s catalog includes the likes of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Theory of Everything,” and “Baby Driver,” to name a few.
The incredibly talented Taylor-Joy—best known as the fractured-yet-firm Casey Cooke in “Split” and “Glass”—plays Emma Woodhouse in the adaptation, with Johnny Flynn (“Clouds of Sils Maria” & “Beast”) portraying Emma’s older good friend and perhaps something more George Knightley. Bill Nighy (“Love Actually” & “Pirates of the Caribbean” series) and Mia Goth (“Suspiria” & “A Cure for Wellness”) also star as Emma’s father and Harriet Smith—another friend of Emma’s—respectively.
Here’s the synopsis:
Handsome, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse is a restless queen bee without rivals in her sleepy little town. In this glittering satire of social class and the pain of growing up, Emma must adventure through misguided matches and romantic missteps to find the love that has been there all along.
“Emma” will be distributed by Focus Features and is set to premiere in the U.K. on February 14, 2020, and in the U.S. on February 21, 2020. Check out the trailer below for this timely tale that was the last work published during its writer’s life.
